VulnerabilityPublished 23 Oct 2024Updated 24 Oct 2024

CVE-2024-40431: realtek-sd-card-reader-driver

Affects realtek-sd-card-reader-driverSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 8.8 High : upgrade to 10.0.26100.21374 soon.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 13:47 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

8.8High

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 1.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 69% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 10.0.26100.21374

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: High
Availability: High

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: Low: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide basic user capabilities that could normally affect only settings and files owned by a user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges may have the ability to cause an impact only to non-sensitive resources.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: High: There is a total loss of integrity, or a complete loss of protection. For example, the attacker is able to modify any/all files protected by the impacted component. Alternatively, only some files can be modified, but malicious modification would present a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.
Availability: High: There is total loss of availability, resulting in the attacker being able to fully deny access to resources in the impacted component; this loss is either sustained (while the attacker continues to deliver the attack) or persistent (the condition persists even after the attack has completed). Alternatively, the attacker has the ability to deny some availability, but the loss of availability presents a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component (e.g., the attacker cannot disrupt existing connections, but can prevent new connections; the attacker can repeatedly exploit a vulnerability that, in each instance of a successful attack, leaks a only small amount of memory, but after repeated exploitation causes a service to become completely unavailable).

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 23 Oct 2024
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Upgrade the Red Hat redhat/realtek-sd-card-reader-driver package to 10.0.26100.21374.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Red Hatredhat/realtek-sd-card-reader-driver`pkg:rpm/redhat/realtek-sd-card-reader-driver`Other threats	Affected <10.0.26100.21374	Fixed in 10.0.26100.21374

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2024-40431, organizations should: 1) Immediately identify and inventory devices using vulnerable Realtek SD card reader drivers. 3) If patches are not yet available, consider disabling or restricting access to the SD card reader device via device manager or group policy to reduce attack surface. 4) Employ endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions to monitor for suspicious IOCTL calls or kernel memory modifications. 5) Enforce least privilege principles to limit user permissions and prevent low-privileged users from accessing vulnerable interfaces. 6) Use kernel-mode exploit mitigations such as Kernel Patch Protection (KPP) and Control Flow Guard (CFG) where supported. 7) Conduct regular security audits and vulnerability scanning focused on driver and kernel components. 8) Educate IT and security teams about the risks of driver vulnerabilities and the importance of timely patching. These steps go beyond generic advice by focusing on device-specific controls and proactive monitoring of kernel-level activities.

Description

A lack of input validation in Realtek SD card reader driver before 10.0.26100.21374 through the implementation of the IOCTL_SCSI_PASS_THROUGH control of the SD card reader driver allows an attacker to write to predictable kernel memory locations, even as a low-privileged user.

Impact

The exploitation of CVE-2024-40431 can have severe consequences for affected organizations. Attackers can gain kernel-level code execution, enabling them to bypass security controls, install persistent malware, or steal sensitive data. This can lead to full system compromise, data breaches, and disruption of critical services. Since the vulnerability requires only low privileges and no user interaction, insider threats or malware already present on a system can escalate privileges rapidly. The widespread deployment of Realtek SD card readers in laptops and embedded systems means a large attack surface exists globally. Organizations relying on endpoint security and data confidentiality are particularly at risk. Additionally, the ability to write to predictable kernel memory may facilitate advanced persistent threats (APTs) targeting high-value assets. The absence of known exploits in the wild currently reduces immediate risk but does not diminish the urgency for mitigation given the high severity and ease of exploitation.

References

zwclose.github.io/2024/10/14/rtsper1.html (opens in a new tab)

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